DRD joined forces with leading law firm, Bird & Bird, to co-host a high-level breakfast roundtable on sport. This event brought together a range of attendees from across the industry to consider how regulation and reputation is affecting competitions and sporting pursuits across the globe.

The event featured representatives of sports clubs, governing bodies, regulators, policy and litigation to give the debate a diverse spectrum of views. Each brought a unique perspective on some commonly shared issues, including on matters ranging from handling criminal allegations, gender identity, financial regulation and cultural and societal pressure for sporting reform.

The session was co-chaired by Bird & Bird Partner, Max Duthie and DRD Partnership Partner, Jon McLeod, representing the twin pillars of regulation and reputation. Leading off the conversation, the two highlighted the tensions sporting bodies often face when grappling with issues relating to domestic abuse allegations, responding to government actions both foreign and domestic, and increasingly visible and vocal athlete activism.

Sport, the conversation determined, had firmly re-entered the realms of both soft and hard power. Much like the 1980s, where sporting competition was at the forefront of the major international political issues of the day, such as apartheid in South Africa and Cold War tensions. Today, the controversy around the participation of Russian athletes and President Trump’s role at LA 2028 were highlighted as the contemporary comparators.

The potentially seismic Seraing FC case challenging the jurisdiction of the Court for the Arbitration for Sport was also highlighted as a watershed moment in sporting regulation.

Opening the debate out to the wider roundtable, participants debated the anticipated Independent Regulator of Football. Some suggested it would create a confused regulatory landscape, with unnecessary duplication of work on the part of clubs, while others defended The IFR’s potential to ensure good governance and financial sustainability.

Other attendees raised the challenge of the pace at which controversies can take hold in modern sport, with one contribution proclaiming that we ‘live in a populist world’ where success or failure can ignite online in the blink of an eye. The increasing spotlight placed on governance bodies to respond to moral questions, especially when the legal situation is particularly complicated, was also discussed as a constant and unique challenge becoming more prevalent.

There was a consensus that modern sport finds itself subject to regulatory and reputational headwinds like never before. The need for sporting organisations, and those advising them, to be sensitive to the rapid and intensive pace of change is of paramount importance.